Does anyone know about walking from Chatelet Les Halles to the Marais district? I checked the route on google maps and it's a 15-minute walk, which is fine. But there was a notation that portions might not be suitable for walking. (Or maybe it's just Google Maps way of protecting themselves?)
(Planning on taking bus from airport to that stop and walking rest of way.)
There's a good bit of construction under way at Les Halles themselves right now, which might lead to some pedestrian detours. An extra half a block, perhaps.
That's a standard disclaimer on all Google Maps walking routes, since sometimes they don't have information on whether a particular road has no sidewalk and is dangerous for pedestrians. That won't be an issue in central Paris.
Great, thanks so much for the replies! That is what we will do then...walk! I figured the Google thingie was just a disclaimer but wanted to make sure!
Can I assume you are arriving from CDG airport? Chatelet-Les Halles is really two stations connected by an underground walkway. It is also connected by a Metro line, No 4 which has platforms at both Les Halles and Chatelet. Taken together, it is the biggest and busiest underground station in Paris. So you could walk from Les Halles, where the RER trains stop plus a side passage to the No 4 station. There are elevators and escalators from the RER platforms up to a mezzanine level where the underground passage to Chatelet is. Its is busy, lots of shops along the way, and well signed. Once at Chatelet, you could go above ground and walk, or take either the No 1 line to St Paul, or the No 7 line to Port Marie or Sully Moreland, whichever is closest to your destination. It won't cost you anything because it is included in your airport ticket.
Yes, Les Halles is a massive construction site. Don't know how far along they are yet. I need to get back to Paris.
I thought that I read somewhere that as of this July most, if not all, of the construction at Chatelet-les Halles was finished and that the completed canopy leaks or something like that. Anyway, I dislike walking underground so if I were at Chatelet-les Halles and arrived via the RER B, I would just take the escalators from the tracks to street level following the signs to exit for Rue Pierre Lescot. When you check the directions on Google maps, make sure that you understand which exit you should use to get to the starting point of the map directions so that you are properly oriented when you start walking. The walk is going to be longer than you think because Google assumes that you are standing outside of Chatelet-les Halles. I would probably exit to Rue Pierre Lescot and use something like 10 Rue Pierre Lescot as the starting point for directions.
Just reread your post and saw this:
(Planning on taking bus from airport to that stop and walking rest of way.)
Which bus is that? I know of no buses from the airport that stop at Les Halles. The Easybus goes to Palais Royale, a little bit further away. Its a good mile the the Marais and maybe more depending on where in the Marais your lodging is.
Sam: Ooops...I guess it was a train I looked at, not a bus. But that still looks like the best option? Train to Chatelet Les Halles and walk the 15 minutes to our accommodations. Looks like it is 10 EU each.
I see the Easy Bus, but for the time we'd want it is 8.95 EU (for some reason at 9:30 it is double the other times) and it would be a way longer walk from that stop.
If anyone sees any problem with the above, please let me know. And Sam...thanks so much for pointing that out to me. We'd be totally lost if I was looking for that non-existent bus!!!
PS>>>re your comment: "Once at Chatelet, you could go above ground and walk, or take either the No 1 line to St Paul, or the No 7 line to Port Marie or Sully Moreland, whichever is closest to your destination. It won't cost you anything because it is included in your airport ticket." So that train ticket would include this extra trip?
Yes, if you're taking the RER from CDG airport (which is the "train" from there to Chatelet-Les Halles), you can change to the metro within Paris at no extra charge. Just keep your ticket handy and uncrumpled, as you'll need to insert it into various turnstiles to do this. And don't exit the system, or you'll have to pay a separate fare.
I don't know if this helps, but here is an outline of the Chatelet-Les Halles station with the above ground streets shaded in. RER platforms at the top. Blue is the RER B line. You follow the signs underground to the Metro platforms, yellow is the No 1, and pink is the No 7. Note that on the No 1 line you want "direction Chateau de Vincennes" and on the No 7 line you want "direction Place d'Italie". That will get you to the platforms for trains going toward Marais.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Complexe_souterrain_Ch%C3%A2telet.svg
What's your destination in the Marais?
It's Rue des Rosiers, #20 something. Looks like I can take the Metro Line 1, and have a 4-minute walk. I THINK I finally have it figured out!
Yes you can exit Metro Line 1 at Saint Paul and have a 5 minute walk. The walk from the RER B stop to Metro Line 1 is also a about a 5 minute one but it feels longer to me because it is underground. There are people movers that are usually working and it is a pretty straight forward connection -- just follow the signs for Metro Line 1 (Chatelet).
with luggage I'd probably take metro line 1 to St. Paul. That seems like more than a 15 minute walk to me. The main issue is the very narrow sidewalks in the Marais.
we just walked it in reverse, no problem. There's construction at Les Halles (new department store) but we didn't have any problem.
Heather, thanks! We leave tomorrow...arrive in Paris 7:35 a.m. on Saturday! Can't wait. Thanks so much to everyone for your helpful responses.
That block of Rue de Rosiers has a good bit of hustle and bustle so ask for a room that doesn't face the street if you are light sleepers.
